It is unclear if the status of the lights, on the Upper Newtownards Road in East Belfast, had anything to do with the incident, but Transport NI confirmed this afternoon that “reports that a nearby pelican crossing was not operational are being investigated”.

It is understood she a suffered head injury after being hit by a car at around 8.40am.

A PSNI spokesman said: "A man, aged in his 30s, who was arrested in connection with a serious rtc on the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast this morning, Tuesday 24 February, has been released on bail pending further enquiries."

TransportNI, formerly known as Roads Service, added that the “incident occurred in the vicinity of ongoing road works, however, the contractor was not working onsite at the time nor were there any traffic restrictions in place”.

It is believed to girl was on her way to school at the time of the accident. It is understood there school patrolman in the area at the time of the incident, though it is unclear how close they were to the crash.

The crash lead to the busy road being closed down by police during rush-hour which caused knock-on roads chaos in the Sydenham and Holywood Road area. The Upper Newtownards Road has now reopened though.

In a statement the PSNI said: “A teenage girl is currently in hospital in a serious condition following the collision. A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection to the incident and is currently in custody helping officers with their enquiries.

“Inspector Barry Black has appealed to anyone who witnessed the collision which occurred at around 8.40am this morning to contact police at Strandtown on 101.”

East Belfast MLA, Judith Cochrane, urged road users to be vigilant in the wake of the accident.

The Alliance representative, who was at the scene a few minutes after the accident happened, added: “My thoughts go out to the teenager who was injured in this accident. I hope she will be able to make a recovery from the injuries she sustained. This must be a very distressing time for her family and friends.

“There were many parents in the area at the time and I would like to thank those who stopped to help for the calm way in which they assisted the schoolgirl before the ambulance arrived.

“I have consistently been campaigning for measures to ensure safer routes to schools, but signage and patrolmen is not enough. I have had numerous complaints in recent weeks about near misses at school crossings and today our worst fear has been realised.

“I would urge all road users to be vigilant, especially when passing schools. We need to be confident our children will be safe on their daily journeys to and from school.”